Today's 10-hour province-wide blackout is actually good for Bohol as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will test-run its P1.19-billion Bohol transmission backbone expansion project where its substation is located in Barangay Sambog, Corella, Bohol. Contrary to earlier speculations, the project has nothing to do with the rumored arrival of SM shopping mall, but it is a project that is expected to cater to the increasing power demand in the province. NGCP has said it is set to complete its Ubay-Corella 138-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line and Corella substation project.

“A major consideration for this project is the forecasted increase of both power supply and demand in the island. The completion of the Ubay-Corella line and the Corella Substation will not only address the load forecast, it will also meet the Philippine Grid Code's N-1 contingency requirement,” said NGCP in a press statement last year. “By completing this project, NGCP aims to fully transmit the power generated from the three generators in Bohol to the public.” The Bohol Backbone project has an Energy Regulatory Commission-approved project cost of P1.19 billion. According to NGCP, construction of the Ubay-Corella line will prevent the overloading of the two 69KV lines in Bohol-Ubay-Trinidad and Ubay-Alicia in the event that one of the segments experiences an outage. The new transmission line spanning 95 kilometers will pass from the northeast to the southwest area of the island.

Part of the project is the construction of the new Corella Substation, which will house one 100-megavolt ampere transformer, one 138-kV power circuit breaker and corresponding accessories. NGCP said that it will serve as an alternative drawdown substation of the Ubay Substation, and will reduce the said substation's load by providing a new power delivery point. It will be located near Tagbilaran City, one of the island's load centers. Another component of the project is the upgrade of the Ubay Substation. Both the transmission line and substation projects commenced construction in November 2010, and are expected to be completed by the last quarter of this year. NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country's power grid. It transmits high-voltage electricity through “power superhighways” that include the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets.